Happy Holidays!

Christmas is not a holiday here in China yet we thought it wouldn't be a problem to find Christmas decorations since all of them are made here.  Add another layer to our understanding of this big country!  Just because it is made here doesn't mean it is available here. 

With Thanksgiving over, we wanted to put up Christmas decorations, and had brought one tote full (out of the 7 or 8 that went to storage).  We still needed lights and a tree.  I went to the mall.  I was so surprised to walk in the door and see this display!

And there were Christmas carols playing over the sound system.  

They don't have a problem with playing the religious carols, either (with is rather surprising).  I found an aisle of Christmas decorations:  small trees, gaudy door hangings, etc.  But the trees were very expensive, and there were no strings of lights.  Using my google translate on my phone (which isn't very accurate), I asked a clerk for "Christmas lights".  She went to get someone else, who got someone else, and soon there were 6 clerks hovering (one of which spoke a little English), on their phones, trying to find out if the store had lights.  After 10 minutes of waiting, the answer finally came.  "No, we have no lights."

Okay.  Another suggestion was an area called Da Hu Tong, in Tianjin.  If that didn't work, there are stores in Beijing that do have everything we need, 

but I hate the two-hour drive there, and then fighting all the traffic.  It is an all-day trip.

So, on Monday, Elizabeth had a ball game after school.   

I took our driver and went into Tianjin early, to check out Da Hu Tong.  Eureka!  Success!  I found trees, lights, wreaths, garlands, etc.  Most were very different from what I would find in America,

 but some were workable.

It's a small tree.  Fortunately, we had small ornaments for it.

And of course, candy canes (which we brought in the shipment).

With Jamie's nativity set on the table

the Christmas season has arrived!

The bigger ornaments look great on our what-ever-it-is tree;

some pine garland on the chandelier (being careful to not let the boughs touch the light bulbs

because there was some serious melting going on when they did) looks festive,

and with some holly and poinsettias, and it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

A friend gave this woodcarving to me, done by a shop in Beijing,

and it helps me to remember 

who to focus on this season.

No matter where we are in this world, 

He is still there.